At the virtual annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the German government presented its second voluntary national review on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The review discusses the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by and in partnership with Germany.
After a video message by Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, Maria Flachsbarth (Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development – BMZ) and Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter (Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety – BMU) emphasised that they regarded the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a compass pointing the way out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maria Flachsbarth (BMZ) called for the United Nations Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals to be used to bring about a sustainable transformation, in particular against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic:"“If we do not change course dramatically, we will face a lost decade for sustainable development. Post-COVID must not equal pre-COVID, or we will never achieve the SDGs! We finally have to make globalisation sustainable and invest massively in the social and ecological transformation now – here in Germany and around the world."
Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter (BMU) underscored the urgent need to take action with regard to three crises, which are enhanced by the pandemic, namely the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis and the increase in marine litter: "The extreme heat waves in many parts of the world and current floods in Western Europe are painful evidence that our actions to date are by far not enough to transition towards a path of sustainable development. We have reached and partly exceeded planetary boundaries. The freedom of the next generation to live good, successful lives must be secured now. This is why we have significantly enhanced our German climate target: we now want to achieve climate-neutrality by 2045."
The German delegation at the HLPF stated that it was strategically important to set a course for more sustainable, climate-neutral and therefore more resilient societies in the recovery programmes drawn up during and after the pandemic. Political solutions and programmes introduced in response to the COVID-19 crisis must be geared towards the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs at national, European and international level. The principle of leaving no-one behind must be considered as tenet for action. In addition to Germany, 41 other states have submitted their national reviews this year. The theme of this year’s HLPF is sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The next comprehensive update of Germany’s National Sustainable Development Strategy is scheduled for 2023/2024.
Background
In September 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by all heads of state and government of the United Nations member states.
This year’s UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development was held from 6 to 15 July and took place mainly as a virtual event. It has established itself as the core body for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
More than 170 states, that means 87 percent of all United Nations member states, have already submitted their voluntary national review to report on their implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Germany is a frontrunner state in this reporting and after submitting its first review in 2016, has now published its second report.